Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN)– What would you do if you turned around for a moment only to end up face to face with a young lion?
This is precisely what happened in a video posted on the Internet and documented by Charles van Staden, who founded the travel company “Everseen Africa” with his wife Serena Negro.
In the video clip, a tracker appears sitting on a designated seat on a car before he is surprised that a young lion has crept up behind him and stares at him.
This video was documented at Bunduru Lodge, which is located in Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa.
This meeting took place on June 14 in front of a group of tourists while they were observing a confrontation between a group of 13 lions and a large herd of buffalo.
Van Staden pointed out that the man in the video, a professional tracker named Eric, did not expect the lion to sneak out from behind the car.
Although it was an unexpected situation, Van Staden confirmed that the tracker handled it well.
Van Staden said the trackers “are highly experienced at reading the behavior of wild animals, and they need to know how to handle each situation.”
The meeting, which garnered more than 30 million views on Instagram in regarding a week, lasted only one minute, but it was enough to surprise followers online.
Van Staden believes that the reason people were surprised by the video was that they didn’t know what happened next, adding that “the interaction between Eric and the young lion was soul nourishing, and very respectful. Eric didn’t hold the handle because he was afraid… but just sat quietly to show respect for the lion.” upon seeing him.”
For those curious regarding what happened to the tracker, van Staden noted that the young lion turned his attention to the herd of buffalo that was chasing him along with the rest of the lions.
Six years ago, Van Staden and his wife Serena Negro left their previous jobs to pursue their safari design dreams.
The duo guide people across Africa through safari experiences and expeditions.